Quite a week here

There is an old adage, "It never rains but it pours." We got a 7:00 am call on Monday that site 54 had a veritable fountain going. So, Gordon and I took off and got necessary tools, like water keys needed to turn off the water and shovels. We did indeed have a fountain. The guest had unhooked his water hose, and the whole thing simply had come apart. I turned off the water main, and we examined the site to discover that the pvc pipe had simply come apart. We dug down to be able to reconnect the pipes and finally got it all put back in order when it began to rain. It had rained during the night and started up with a vengeance about 7:45, Our day went downhill from there, and it rained off and on all day. I was park host and had to check all sites to see who was here or had left. This was hard to do in a golf cart with the rain coming in, but I managed. The rest of the day was spent mainly in the maintenance shop putting the park names on all of our equipment. At the end of the day, I still had to close and lock up at 10:00pm, I started out and discovered the we had never even unlocked any of our buildings. Closing up was a quick job.

On Tuesday Roy joined our crew, and we caught up on our mowing until I was turning the John Deere tractor around a tree and broke off a water spicket. Before the day was out, we had and fixed five water leaks. Talk about raining and pouring.

On Wednesday we woke up to a flood next door. After much checking, we had a water main that had broken during the night and caused the flooding. We finally got the water turned off and decided to not turn it back on until the people who had camped in this spot had left. They leave tomorrow. We did have to get out two sump pumps and pump out the site and several others where we had overflow. Three days of water problems in a row is too much. Finally, we got back to weed whacking and a bit of mowing.

Late in the morning there was some excitement of police chasing up and down our highway. We did not know what that was all about. I went to site 17 to clean it up when I heard a loud noise, followed by a thundering roar, and suddenly I saw a car come crashing through our roadside fence and hurtling directly in front of where I was working, plowing into the trees at the edge of our property. As I stood watching, with my mouth open, as though I was watching a movie, the police came charging through with their guns drawn, ready to shoot. Subsequently, we discovered that the police had shot out tires to stop the driver before he went back into town. The person they were pursuing was a gas robber at the next town on the lam, trying to escape the law. The loud noise was the shot fired at his tires. The roar was his crashing through several sections of our fence. There were police cars everywhere, and they approached the wreckage with guns drawn. One of our guests, Mario, shouted at me, "There are guns, get behind my coach and get out of the line of fire!" I was glad to comply. Then emergency vehicles arrived, and the robber was taken away. Somehow he was not hurt, although parts of our fence went through the fire wall of his car into the passenger compartment, and another section pierced the windshield, just missing him. I thanked the Lord that I was not in his line of travel. Lookie loos arrived, and we had to chase them off so the police could inspect the crash scene. The rest of the day was a blur to me, and I had quite an adrenalin let down after it was all over. Later, when we inspected the path the car had taken, he missed a light pole by less than a foot and a steel beam supporting our sign by less than six inches. Either of those, not to mention the sections of fence which went through his car, could have caused his demise. Amazing he lived through it! Lunch helped take care of the shakes. It never rains, but what it pours. I think I vote for rain rather than high speed cops and robber chases. Happy travels.

Max all a quiver

Max loved having James around to play with and got him to play endless games of tug-a-war among others. At one point James was holding up one of Max's toys and trying to get him to jump up to get it. Max started to quiver his jaw like you might do if you were stuttering. It was hilarious to see, and of course everyone else tried to get Max to quiver his jaw as well. But he really only seemed to want to do this new trick for James. I will try to get him to do it again before he forgets this new ability. I wonder if a dog can stutter a bark. Happy travels.

Tim and James visit

Yesterday, late morning, Tim and James came for a brief visit. They are on their way to South Texas on another fund raising trip so that they can begin their missionary activities on the border of Texas and Mexico. James has grown several inches and now is taller than his Grammy, HW2. A fellow work camper took over for me so that I could spend the rest of Wednesday with our family. We took them to one of our favorite nearby towns, Fredricksburg and enjoyed visiting this tourist center and even had lunch outside. Near the end of this visit it began to sprinkle, and we decided to head back to Kerrville.

Later that day we enjoyed drinks and snacks and then cooked steaks and enjoyed salad and baked potatoes. This is HW2's favorite meal for sure. Finally, a taste of brownies and the meal was complete. Of course, we talked non-stop the entire time. They leave about noon today to head further south. Max thought it was wonderful to have a kid play with him and give him lots of attention. He wanted to go home with James last night when they left here to go to their cabin for the night. Even though the visit will be short, it was wonderful to see them both and get caught up on all of their activities. It would have been nice to see the rest of the family as well, but you take what you can get. Happy travels.

Roy is back

Roy and his wife Laura took a month long vacation in Oklahoma, which is where they are from originally. Roy is 75, and now I am no longer the oldest work camper here again. He gets called 'paw paw' by many of us, in fun generally, but it also denotes respect for his age, too. He got a cold and fought it the entire time they were away. Roy loves to mow and use the grasshopper to do this activity. Wait until he learns about my adventure with the grasshopper when I slid it into the river and had to be winched out by a tow truck. I am in for much kidding.

We have also cleaned up the shop and inventoried much of the equipment during this past month. We also tossed away lots of stuff that is no longer of use. Other stuff was taken off site to storage as well. Roy is a saver or collector, and this will hurt him to his core. I expect that he may well rant and rave over what was done. Oh well, the boss said to do it. Roy also takes care of our golf carts, and I took this job over while he was gone but did not do it nearly as thoroughly as he does. I am so glad to have him back and to be able to continue to work and learn from this fount of knowledge. Glad you are back, Roy and Laura. Happy travels.

Max get tangled up

Max and I were outside on this nice fall day just sitting in our gazebo and enjoying the day. Max was on his leash and wandering about sniffing here and there. He constantly looks for Mr. Toad, and since he lives under our patio, Max knows he is somewhere close. Max wandered about the outside of his exercise area and got his leash tangled with two metal dog statues which we bought at an arts and crafts show in Omaha several years ago. This scared Max, and he took off around his exercise yard dragging the statues. He realized that THEY were following him and that made him even more scared. I quickly got up and tried to stop Max from running away and finally untangled the leash from the statues. Max was very relieved that they were no longer following and quickly went back to the gazebo but did not want to go anywhere near the statues. The whole thing seemed very funny when I related the incident to HW2. Poor Max. Happy travels.

Furthur Progress

Yesterday I went to the estate sale and escaped with no purchases. It was a nice sale with lots of wood carvings and stained glass lamps among other stuff. I resisted. They did have a lovely Amethyst geode that supported a glass top and could be used for a coffee table. The $1750 price tag seemed right since the geode was 3-4 feet in diameter. I resisted again. Then on to Wally World, or Walmart if you prefer, for groceries, red spray paint, and a thermometer for HW2. She is feeling better today. Maybe the fever has gone for good.

At home I mowed our grassy plot, did the laundry, and then went back to the maintenance shop to finish painting our red wagon, and it looks quite cute being hauled behind a golf cart. One of the guys said, "It is too pretty to use." Then I continued to work on the band saw and this time finished the project. It now tracks appropriately and presumably will cut wood as needed. It did not come apart. I felt quite good to get the darn thing working again. Finally, a long nap was enjoyed, and then we made hamburgers for dinner with all the fixings. Happy travels.

Banking by computer

Since we have been "full timers," that is living and camping in our motor home, we have learned to use cell phones and computers to make this process easier. Now everyone has a cell phone, and some people no longer have phone land line hookups at all. I don't particularly like cell phones, but they are essential when you live in a motor home and are on the move.

Early on, HW2 figured out how to connect our computer to a cell phone and get continual usage of the computer. She is quite clever this way and gets called 'techy grammy' by kids and grands. Of course over the years, giant leaps have occurred in technology, and now we have Verizon connecting our computer to the Internet 24 x 7.

Some years ago I began the process of banking on the computer so that we could pay bills even though we were moving about in our motor home. This has turned out to be a very user friendly system. Recently our bank added a process that allows us to scan a check, both front and back, and send this information through the Internet electronically directly to the bank. Once the process is complete, we receive a confirmation number, and when we check the bank account the additional money is immediately available. Now that is progress. We neither have to visit the bank to make a deposit or mail in the check to do the same. When we get paid for our work camping activities, we make the deposits through this process on our computer. I think this is just amazing. Happy travels.

Volunteering and fixing

As a way to help pay for our space rental, we frequently volunteer and are expected to do so especially when there are big parties like fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and other holidays.

Yesterday my errands were primarily for our resort and meet several maintaince needs here. We have two small carts that can be pulled behind a golf cart which have multiple uses like picking up garbage, tree limbs, moving dirt, and other necessary things. One has had flat tires since I started this gig back in March. I asked whether we could get tires for it and got lots of varied answers, none of which fixed the cart. In the Tractor Supply Store in town I had seen a variety of small tires and told the boss here that I would get some, if they were the right size for the cart. So yesterday, I found the exact type of tire needed and bought two. Best of all they were on sale for half price at $10 each. That is a deal.

We went on to Home Depot to get more supplies. I thought that fresh paint would be good for the carts since they were in a very rusty condition. I also got special lamp bulbs and some blades for our band saw.

Once we arrived back at the park I went to work. First I put the new tires on the cart and they were the ones needed. Then I painted this cart with green enamel and the other cart with red enamel. These colors were chosen since they were the original colors. Next I put the lamp bulbs in their light fixtures that we use when we have to work outside at night and need extra lights to complete the work. I still have to make stands so that the lights can be free standing.

Finally I went to work on the band saw. A fellow work camper had been using this saw to cut very hard wood to use in a meat smoker and the blade broke but never got replaced while he was here. He ended his stint of work camping and the saw was not fixed so I took on the project. I did not know what I was getting into. So far, I have the new circular blade on and tracking but not all the guides have cooperated. I worked until 5pm and will have to do some more work today to finish. I have had to take the entire guiding mechanism apart to see how it works and read the manual several times. I am making progress but I want to get this band saw working and not have it come apart when being used hurting another work camper.

I had thought that I might volunteer for several hours to complete these projects but it turned out to be an all day thing. We shall see how long it takes to complete today. Does anyone have a can of red enamel spray paint? I ran out and need one more can to finish spraying the red cart. Happy travels.

HW2 has the flu

Sadly, for her, HW2 came down with the flu on Saturday. So on Sunday, no church for us, and she did not go into work this week either. Other work campers filled in for her, and some even brought by soup to make her better. I made homemade chicken soup with garlic, onions, rice, carrots, celery and chicken, of course, which lasted for two meals. I call this Jewish penicillin. Yesterday I cooked steak ,and we had big salads to go with it and ate outside. This was the first meal that she has really enjoyed, so her appetite is gradually coming back.

We really do not know exactly what type of flu this is. She has had chills and fever, no energy, and sleeping a lot, but not the stomach upset variety. So maybe it is the regular flu, or maybe it is swine flu. Who knows? I just hope that she keeps getting better.

Yesterday she was suffering from cabin fever. I had some errands to run and suggested that she come along but stay in the car while I did my errands. She did that, and when we returned home, was again tired and took a brief nap.

Today there is a good estate sale, as well as an arts and craft show at the fair grounds. HW2 will not be going as she is still probably infectious, but I may have to go in her place to at least the estate sale. Happy travels.

Max is growing up

This morning Max came to get me out of bed about 6am. This is a good thing since we have been leaving him out of his crate, and he can choose to sleep in the crate, since the door is left open, or sleep in his bed, or as is just as likely, drag his towel out into the room and sleep on that. Since he is free, I have wondered whether he might have an accident and so far has not. His coming to get me is a sign that he has grown up and knows that he is to do his business outside not inside. So my usual, "Good boy, Max" applies here. It was worth getting up to take him outside.

Max will be a year old in November, and he is turning into a good dog. We have not always enjoyed the growing up process, but he is good company and fun to be around. Happy travels.

We eat at Il Sogno in San Antonio

Yesterday it was time to get out of here, and so we went to San Antonio so that HW2 could look at the bargains at Old Navy, Penney's, and other stores. For lunch HW2 had been reading about a restaurant located at the Pearl Brewery in the paper, so we had to try it out. This restaurant is a bit upscale, and the service was excellent. The water boy visited our table frequently which was a good thing, as I was very thirsty. You had your choice of a thin slice of orange, lime, or lemon for your water. The meal menu was explained by a waiter who was born in Lyon, France, and later moved to Belgium but is now in San Antonio. His accent was very difficult for me to follow, but we enjoyed him and his explanations.

They have an antipasta buffet of Mediterranean cuisine, and you can choose 3-5 selections for an appetizer. We chose goat cheese, a selection of meats, and capponata. It also came with bread ,which was excellent. For entrees we selected pork scalloppini and gnocchi. The pork was superb. HW2 also had a glass of Pinot Grigio, which she enjoyed. The dining area is open to the kitchen, so you can watch the chefs at work. They also serve pizza with their Marguerita Pizza priced by the time on the clock that it is ordered. So if you order it at 6:30, it will cost you $6.30. We did not know whether this held if you ordered it during the noon hour.

We certainly enjoyed our meal, and the service was superb. Although lunch was rather pricey, I think we would like to return and try other menu choices. Happy travels.

I get back on the Grasshopper mower

If you fall off a horse, get back on. Well, I did not fall off the Grasshopper, but I did get it mired in the edge of our river and had to get winched out by a tow truck. You can read the earlier story about Pride goeth.......

I had to get back on the Grasshopper and begin to rebuild my tattered reputation. There have been lots of smiles at my expense, which I have tried to enjoy as well. So I got on the machine and headed back down to the flat land next to the river. As I mowed back and forth, I gradually began to feel comfortable enough with it to try again to mow along the edge of the river. I have to admit that at the end of this pass, I was hanging onto the handles tightly. However, I did manage to mow the edge without incident. Yeah!

Later in the day I even mowed down rather steep hills. It did not cut very well, although going slowly, it did work. Finally I began to run out of diesel and shut down the machine for the day until we could get more gas. A few more hours and I will have this machine figured out. Happy travels.

The Wazoo Family

The other day a motor home pulled in to our resort and it had 'The Wazuu Family' boldly printed on both sides of the unit. Several of us worker bees were in the office at the time when the sign was noticed, and we waited with anticipation as this family checked in. The more we thought about the name, the funnier it became. Dianna thought it might be the name of a musical instrument. I commented, "That is a Kazoo." The people came in and began the check-in process. When HW2 got to, "Your last name," I thought we were going to all fall on the floor with laughter. He responded, "Sands." We swallowed our laughter and stared. Then he asked, meaning his motor home, "Where do you want me to put it?" I had to leave the office.

I got to lead Mr. Sands to his site. The betting in the office was whether I would or would not ask about his sign. Of course I asked about the sign on his motor coach and found out the rest of the story. They come from central Washington State, and the local university is Western Washington State or something like that and their nickname is, you guessed it, 'The Wazuus.' Being loyal fans who attend every game, they view themselves as members of the Wazuu Family. Happy travels.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Dan Brown is a blockbuster writer who became quite famous when he wrote and published, 'The Da Vinci Code.' It was followed by the movie starring Tom Hanks who really did quite well in the role of Robert Langdon who solves the many puzzles presented throughout the story. After a several year wait we finally were able to read Dan Brown's latest book, 'The Lost Symbol.' From my perspective, this author writes very convincingly and has an adept way to keep the reader off base as he takes you through the thriller. Then why did I not like the book?



I think he tried too hard to repeat his success with 'The Da Vinci Code.' It must be difficult to have a real blockbuster and then put out your next work for all to admire or criticize. He makes many points about being a Mason and spells out some of the details in becoming a 33rd degree Mason. He tries to make the Masons secretive and then seems to really like what they do. I find many contradictions like the above. It is as though he is trying to convince himself of what to believe. For me it comes down to having faith. You either have faith or you do not. Would I encourage you to read this latest work? Yes! Form your own conclusions and then lets talk. Happy travels.

First Sunday

On the first Sunday of each month we serve as ushers. We enjoy doing this and we get to meet friends and give them their bulletin. When it is time to collect the offering we also do that. Near the end of the service we have communion and then when church is over we go through all of the pews and collect bulletins that have been left as well as communion glasses. This church encourages each member to participate in as many activities as they wish. We signed up to usher and become members of Seekers as well as suppers eight. These activities as well as the occasional request to be readers have suited us quite well. In the process we have enjoyed meeting other members and being welcomed here. We have indeed found a church home.

October Fest

When this part of Texas was settled in the 1800's, many immigrants from Germany arrived and established new homes. Nearby Fredericksburg is one of their communities, and of course they want to celebrate October Fest in appropriate ways. There will be oompah bands, beer, sausages, and sauerkraut for all to enjoy. We have been there before and plan to go tomorrow with friends. This small city is only 20 miles north of Kerrville, and we visit this fun place at least once each month. One of our favorite stores has lots of tasting for local delights like peach jam and peach salsa. This particular store provides nearly 100 different items you can taste and then decide which to buy. You can tell that peaches grow nearby, although this year's crop was badly damaged by a late freeze.

Grandparents in the German tradition are called Oma or Opa. The East Texas version is Meemaw and Papa, prounounced Paw-paw. I get called Paw-paw around here since when Roy is on vacation, I am the oldest worker. Hence the nickname. Maybe I can get them to call me Opa. I do have German ancestors among many others, and that would be fine. Happy travels.

Cold Fronts

Last evening we enjoyed seeing the edge of an approaching cold front. There were fluffy white clouds piled high, and gradually we could see the effects of lightening as its flashes outlined parts of the clouds. Sometimes it jumped from cloud to cloud, and sometimes we could see strings of flashes. It was quite spectacular. Gradually the front moved in a south easterly direction and approached Kerrville. Finally the rain came, but it was quite brief in duration. This was a nice cooling way to end the day here.

Mother Nature sure can provide a show. Usually we seem to see the approach of a rainstorm but not the edge of the front. Sometimes we also get the rainbow at the end of the storm and the promise for a new wonderful day. We need the rain here in Central Texas and appreciate each drop of rain. Two years of drought have taken their toll on the plants and trees. At the moment we have had enough rain to green up our park and grounds. It is really quite lovely and a refreshing change from the brown color associated with the drought. Happy travels.

Pride goeth before a fall

Yesterday Mark and I were working. We checked to see which guests were still here and picked up some garbage and finished checking on and cleaning the pools. After some weed whacking I found out that the Grasshopper mower was now working, and it was my turn to learn how to use this machine. I got it turned on and slowly maneuvered it down to the flat land by the river where I could practice mowing straight lines and maneuver around trees. Gradually I got the hang of this machine and slowly began to speed up the process. The Grasshopper does not have a steering wheel but rather has two levers, one for each hand, that you work to move straight, left, right, or back up. Actually, when you get the hang of it is it much easier to drive than a standard yard tractor.

I picked a section that had lots of open spaces and went back and forth building up my confidence in utilizing the machine. Finally I had finished the section, but there was a small part that remained by the river, and I decided to go slowly near the edge and then finish this part as well. Near the end of this part I felt the machine begin to slip, and the left back wheel slipped into the edge of the river. Fortunately, it was not very deep. Nothing I did helped. It was so slippery that finally I only made things worse and got the base hung up on the bank as well. A nearby guest, Ray, came by to help with his good suggestions, but none worked. So, I walked back to our shop and got Mark to bring down his personal golf cart, as well as mine. Neither did anything when attached except spin in the grass. Mark has a Ford truck, and he brought that down next. Same result, spinning in the grass, when we tried to pull the Grasshopper out. All of a sudden, the boss Don was there, and I heard, "Go up to the front and direct a wrecker down here." With my tail between my legs, I followed the instructions.

Suddenly Don appeared and said he would wait for the wrecker, and I was to go to site 92 and cut branches that were touching a rig there. I did that and watched Don lead the wrecker down to the river. Finishing my trimming, I went back down. The wrecker surveyed the situation and decided to bring his truck part way down and then hook a cable onto Mark's truck and pull both out at the same time, since the Grasshopper was still hooked to the back of Mark's truck. The cable winched out both vehicles, and I drove the newly released Grasshopper back to our work shop to clean off the spattered mud that was everywhere. I felt terrible and was so embarrassed. I told Don that I would pay for the wrecker and he said, "No, shit happens."

Later I learned that Roy, who is on vacation and usually is the driver of the Grasshopper, had also landed it in the river. So things can happen. When I got home, a shower for me was in order, and HW2 noticed that I did not even have on matched socks. Now do you suppose that mismatched socks could have started this whole mess? I promise to stay away from machinery for a day or two. Fortunately, I have four days off. Happy travels.